Authors of The Hard Side of Change Management, Harold L Sirkin, Perry Keenan, and Alan Jackson, examined initially 225 companies and determined a consistent correlation between the outcome (success or failure) of change programs and four hard factors which they used to develop the DICE assessment.
Despite the variety of change initiatives a company could undertake, and the possible industries they could exist in, these 4 factors have gained considerable attention by companies like the Boston Consulting Group with out any additional factors later included. Many high level CEOS have adopted the assessment below to determine the likelihood of success for their projects, and help to identify risks in on-going projects.
The 4 factors are as follows:
Duration (d)
The authors write that a long project reviewed frequently will likely fair better then a short project reviewed infrequently. They recommend that complex projects are reviewed at least every 2 weeks while straightforward projects a can be no longer than every 6-8 weeks.
Integrity (i)
It’s important to have the right people on the bus, and in the right seats. This step looks at identifying the key members to be on the team who have the right skill sets, are result oriented, and a top performers.
Commitment (c1, c2)
The authors write that companies must have the commitment of 2 major groups if the change project is to succeed: The first are the most influential executives (c1), who must be visibly backing the project. They note this do not necessarily mean those with the biggest titles; The second are those that must deal with the new system, or those who are directly affected by the change (c2). This subset takes into account the level of support and enthusiasm, or lack thereof.
Effort (e)
The last takes into account how much work employees have to do, beyond their existing responsibilities, to ensure that the change happens. The authors calculate that no one’s workload should exceed 10%. To achieve this they recommend reorganizing job duties, using outside companies (like temp agencies) when applicable, and strategically managing priorities and timelines of projects.
For each category companies will rank on a sale 1-4 specific questions. They then utilize the following equation:
DICE score = d + 2(i) +2(c1) + c2 + e
The total score is then plotted on a graph which depicts the likelihood to succeed. Scores of 7-14 have a high likelihood of being very successful and they describe this as the win zone. Scores between 14-17 are mid-range, and they describe this as the worry zone. Finally scores between 17-28 are in the woe zone, and have a sharp decrease in likelihood to succeed.